Beakoncé easily outpolled Taylor Swoop as the top votegetter in the contest to name the four peregrine falcon chicks that recently hatched high atop the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
Of the nearly 200,000 votes cast over the past week, the four winners chosen from among 10 finalists are:
- Beakoncé (49,395 votes) Nominated by Ms. Tolomeo and Ms. Ingram’s third-graders at Greenvale Elementary in Scarsdale
- Estrella (44,765 votes) Nominated by Mrs. O’Brien’s fourth-graders at Park Avenue School in Port Chester.
- Taylor Swoop (35,592 votes) Nominated by Ms. Kopac, Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Tanenbaum’s fourth-graders at Cottage Lane Elementary in Blauvelt.
- Jet (27,291 votes) Nominated by Mrs. Pease’s fifth-graders at Bedford Hills Elementary School in Bedford Hills.
Third- to sixth-graders across Rockland and Westchester counties submitted more than 100 names as part of an expanded falcon naming contest conducted in partnership between the New York State Thruway Authority and Veolia.
A panel of judges then selected 10 finalists and votes came pouring in on the bridge’s website from May 15 to May 22.
The winning schools will have the bridge lit in their school colors, and the winning classes will meet with a certified falconer.
Three eggs hatched on Earth Day, April 22, and the last falcon was born on April 24. Three are females and one is male.
You can watch the bridge falcons in their nest box on the bridge’s Falcon Cam (newnybridge.com/peregrine-falcons) before they leave their current home.
As the nestlings age, they are left alone for longer periods of time to learn how to hunt and survive on their own until they depart the nest after approximately 40 days. When young falcons mature, they often migrate great distances to establish nests and raise their own family. Peregrines primarily hunt other birds, such as pigeons and ducks, and can exceed 200 mph during their dives.
Nest boxes have supported New York’s falcon population in recent decades, providing shelter and high vantage points from which the peregrines can search for food. In fact, scores of birds hatched at the Tappan Zee Bridge over the decades before it was replaced by the new bridge.
